This invention relates to a mounting arrangement for an outboard motor and more particularly to a structure for mounting the lower bracket of the steering shaft to the drive shaft housing.
Most conventional outboard motor constructions employ a clamping bracket that is adapted to be affixed in a suitable manner to the hull of the associated watercraft and which pivotally supports a swivel bracket for tilt and trim movements. The swivel bracket, in turn, journals a steering shaft for steering movement about a generally vertically extending steering axis when the swivel bracket is tilted down. The steering shaft, in turn, is resiliently connected to the driveshaft housing so as to support the remaining components of the outboard motor on the clamping bracket. The resilient support is employed for reducing the transmission of vibration from the operation of the propulsion unit, including the powering internal combustion engine, to the hull.
Normally the driveshaft housing is a generally open casing made from a lightweight material such as aluminum or aluminum allow casting. The driveshaft housing is generally open at the top and the power head, including the powering internal combustion engine, is carried at the upper end of the driveshaft housing. The internal cavity of the driveshaft housing defmes several chambers. Two such chambers of the internal cavity are an exhaust expansion chamber and a water pump chamber containing water for the cooling of the engine.
Conventionally the structure for attaching the lower end of the steering shaft to the driveshaft housing has been comprised of an attaching bracket comprised of two bracket members capturing a resilient member that engages a portion of the driveshaft housing at a lower end. Typically, the attaching bracket is mounted on the driveshaft housing at a location corresponding to the an internal portion of the driveshaft housing juxtaposed to the expansion chamber. Further, the attachment mechanism has typically been attached to the driveshaft housing at a point where only the two exterior wall of the driveshaft housing provide reaction support for the attachment bracket.
It is, therefor, a principal object of the this invention to provide an improvement to the rigidity of the driveshaft housing in the region of the lower attachment bracket of the steering shaft.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a mounting arrangement for the steering shaft of an outboard motor to the driveshaft housing that will allow a cooling supply to the mounting arrangement.
It is a further object of the this invention to provide an improved mounting arrangement that minimizes the number of parts and the number of detachable connections.